LITERACY LEVELS AND EDUCATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL PENNSYLVANIA
1729-1775
BY ALAN
TuLLY'
IN
HIS recent book, American Education: The Colonial Experience, Lawrence Cremin has, with vivid strokes, set out
a broad survey of cultural life in the American colonies. After
describing the plantation beginnings of what the author calls
an "overwhelmingly derivative" colonial culture, he moves on
to discuss the changes that took place during the "increasingly
creative" provincial years.' The single most important characteristic of colonial life in the eighteenth century was the
process of growth and development that by 1776 produced a
unique American culture. This maturing process was, to a large
extent, the result of an increasingly active and meaningful
participation in social, religious and political affairs by a growing proportion of the colonial populace. Such participation was
encouraged not only by the assumption of inclusiveness that
underlay most of the contemporary intellectual movements and
by an unusually high degree of intellectual competence among
the populace at large, but also by the spirited debates that accompanied the new religious ideas and modes, by the impact
of the new utilitarian concepts of education, and by the general
political and ideological conflict that preceded the Revolution.
In his treatment of the Revolution, Cremin makes his argument in its most forceful form. He suggests that the eighteenthcentury colonial political culture included a powerful imperative
that demanded an educated populace.2 Liberty could find protection only where the body politic was genuinely attentive to
public affairs and such concern involved more than mere partic*The-author is a graduate student in the History Department at The Johns
Hopkins
University.
1
bLawrence A. Cremin, American Education: the Colonial Experience,
1607-1783
(New York, 1970), 253.
2 lbid. 419-443.
301
302
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY
ipation in practical politics: it demanded "systematic reflection
on that experience to be derived from individual reading and
study."s The institutional foundations necessary for this ideal
level of informed public participation in colonial affairs rapidly
expanded to meet the need. "The number of schools and the
extent of schooling increased markedly during the eighteenth
century," and not just as a function of population growth.4 The
availability of teachers increased significantly after 1745.5 Newspapers, churches, and colleges mutually supported each other
as instruments for the dissemination of political ideas, reaching
out and actively involving growing numbers of the colonial community in the pressing public problems of the day." As a political
event, then, the Revolution was only one part of a much more
broad and unified educational revolution. It was "the relatively
expansive literacy" in combination with a "relatively inclusive
politics" that produced a mature and unique American culture,
one that "may well have achieved the highest intensity of popular
interest and participation in politics that any western society
had achieved to that time."T
In his discussion of literacy and the relationship of literacy
rates to participation in public affairs, Cremin makes a very
important distinction. He draws a line between "inert" or
"technical" literacy ("minimal technical competence . . . combined with limited motivation, need, and opportunity") and
"liberating" literacy ("the technical ability in interaction with a
literary environment").1 Now, when Cremin discusses the increasing literacy of the eighteenth century, he refers to the
latter type; the educational revolution was the increasing rate
by which those who had achieved technical literacy were drawn
into active, intelligent consideration of social and political affairs.
Having made this distinction, he nonetheless asserts, with
equal assurance, "that technical inevitably enhanced political
literacy, and vice versa."" By attributing a functional relationship to the two different types of literacy, Cremin supplies a
Ibid., 469.
'Ibid., 500.
:Ibid., 539.
3
'Ibid., 444-468.
549-550.
'Ibid., 548-549
'Ibid., 449.
7Ibid.,
RURAL L1TERACY-1729-1775
303
very important premise, one that allows him to bolster his
argument about the increasing liberating literacy levels by
drawing on the more easily quantifiable evidence on technical
literacy. Using the traditional signature-mark methodology he
has analyzed legal documents in six sample areas. On the
strength of these findings he has concluded that by 1775 relatively large numbers of Americans possessed basic literary skills
and consequently were eligible for the liberating educational
revolution.10 Since Cremin's argument embraces developments
on two distinct yet interrelated levels-those of technical literacy
and liberating literacy-his conclusions about both of these
categories require careful consideration.
Chester and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania are suitable
areas in which to test Cremin's conclusions about technical
literacy. The residents of these two counties, as well as the other
inhabitants of Pennsylvania, shared in the general colonial cultural life that Cremin describes. Local newspapers printed the
same kinds of material that other colonial papers contained;
political, economic, and religious ties with London, the hub
of Empire, were deeply rooted; personal libraries of Pennsylvanians certainly included the works of Burgh, Molesworth,
Coke, Locke, and Macauley. Such men as Benjamin Franklin
and William Smith were powerful moulders of the provincial
environment. Composing, as they did, the most important part
of Philadelphia's hinterland, Chester and Lancaster were as
much exposed to this liberating metropolitan influence as any
comparable rural area could be. For many residents of Chester,
proximity to Philadelphia meant'that they could take advantage
of the specific educational opportunities afforded by that city,
while in the more southerly regions of the county the Nottingham, New London and Newark Academies and Samuel Blair's
classical school had their own local influence. Lancaster,
which lay to the west of Chester, was a frontier county founded
in 1729, but for-a back country area it was well developed.
Parts of the county had been settled by 1720 and its rich agriculturalIland ensured its rapid maturation into a commercial
farm economy. The social composition of Lancaster residents
makes this area a particularly important case study for it was
0
Ibid., 517-543.
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY
304
the home of a number of quietistic sects whose "concepts of
guarded education" should have helped to keep technical literacy
high."t Lastly, both Chester and Lancaster counties were inhabited by large numbers of people who belonged to different
denominational groups. According to Cremin, the pressure of
competing denominations usually stimulated the various religious groups quickly to provide their own schools.' 2 Hence,
technical literacy, at least, should have either stayed high or
risen in the decades before the Revolution.
The results of the signature-mark literacy test for Chester
and Lancaster counties appear in Table 1. From 1729 to 1774
the literacy rate for white adult males was approximately 72%
in Chester and 63% in Lancaster; neither county showed more
than a slight improvement over time. Table 2 presents the evidence from a similar examination of extant German wills in
Lancaster county. Although the sample is too small to support
independent conclusions, results do indicate that literacy rates
for the German-speaking residents of the county were not radiTABLE 1
SIGNATuRE-MARK ANALYSIS oF
CHESTER AND LANCASTER
Men
Women
WILLS
Combined
A. CHESTER COUNTY
172-44
1745-54
1755-64
1765-74
188
207
200
248
65
78
88
90
67.9
72.6
69.4
73.4
16
8
12
33
19
35
33
42
45.7
18.6
26.7
44.0
204
215
212
281
108
113
121
132
65.4
65.5
63.7
68.0
4
B. LANCASTER COUNTY
1729-44
1745-54
1755-64
59
1ol
168
34
67
92
63.4
60.1
64.6
0
2
2
7
14
13
0.0
14.4
15.4
59
103
170
79
103
59.0
56.6
62.3
1765-74
246
142
63.4
9
15
37.5
255
157
62.
Source: Chester and Lancaster County Wil Books
- Ibid., 308.
SIbid., 545.
'3The evidence in Table I is based on an analysis of all the wills probated in Lancaster and Chester counties between 1729 and 1774. The
305
RURAL LITERACY-1729-1775
cally different from the English. The tendencies shown in
Table 1 may, therefore, be accepted as generally representative.
TABLE 2"
SIGNATuRE-MAmK ANALYSIS OF GERMAN
Men
WILLs
IN LANCASTER COuNTY
Women
*.s
Combined
428
z
1729-64
48
32
60.0
0
4
0.0
48
36
57.0
1765-74
63
32
66.3
2
7
28.6
65
39
62.5
Source: Lancaster County Will Books
This evidence from Lancaster and Chester counties suggests
that Cremin's samples of technical literacy rates may not be
entirely representative. The six areas that he analyzed (two
metropolitan, two old eastern, and two back country settlements) shared relatively high technical literacy rates by the
1760's and'70's. Of the sample groups of white male inhabitants
in Dedham and Kent, 97 and 100 percent respectively could
sign their names; in New York, Philadelphia and Elizabeth City,
the figures were 88, 82 and 91 percent; in back country South
Carolina, literacy rates did not fall "much below 80 percent
for any substantial group of white male settlers and around 90
signature-mark tabulation does not include witnesses of wills, thus avoiding
the need for specific controls against repetition. The biases of the material
are the obvious ones. Those who left wills were, on the average, about
one and one-quarter to one and one-half times as wealthy as those who
died intestate. Second, not every mature head of household left a will.
In Chester wills represent, at best, 41% of the adult male deaths and at
worst approximately 10%. In Lancaster, after about 1750 similar limits are
applicable. On the average, however, it is likely that wills represent about
16% of the white adult males who died between 1729 and 1774 in these
two counties. Such-representation is heavily weighted towards those who
were the most wealthy, the most prominent, and the most likely to live
in those townships where educational opportunities were to be encountered.
Under these-'circumstances optimistic estimates for literacy among white
male inhabitants would be 40% in Lancaster and 55% in Chester. The
wills may be found in the Chester and Lancaster County Court Houses.
'The above evidence and an impressionistic reading of the Lancaster
probate records for the 1780's and '90's indicates that technical literacy
rates for Germans were probably no more than marginally higher than those
for the English and Scotch-Irish.
306
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY
percent among the Germans." The rates for southeastern Pennsylvania, however, contrast sharply with these findings; the percentage of white male inhabitants who could sign their names
ranged from eight to 18 percent below the Philadelphia rate.1 5
As Cremin has clearly pointed out, considerable difficulty attends any attempt to place technical literacy data in a meaningful comparative framework. But after considering the biases
of the colonial legal records, he does conclude that the exceptionally high literacy rates from his six sample areas would
in fact be "closer" to the lower but more accurate English
levels.' If, however, Cremin's American statistics are uncharacteristically high-and those from southeastern Pennsylvania
indicate that they are-technical literacy rates for the colonists
would certainly be no higher than those of the English. Thus,
the number of colonists who were eligible for the liberating literacy were not as great as Cremin's figures imply. In comparative
terms, there were probably no more and possibly less potentially
liberated literates in America than in eighteenth century England.
Since Cremin predicates the distinctiveness of eighteenth
century American culture on the popularization of education and
the politicization of the populace, his central concern is the
liberating educational revolution.Y7 Even if technical literacy
rates were lower in America than in England, it is conceivable
that a larger percentage of those colonists who possessed basic
literacy skills were drawn into active and meaningful participa'5 Cremin, American History, 517-543. Cremin's literacy figures for
South Carolina are probably based on Robert L. Meriwether's evidence in
The Expansion of South Carolina, 1729-65 (Kingsport, Tenn., 1940), 177.
Meriwether suggests that "a fair estimate" of illiteracy would be "between
ten and twenty percent. The Germans made the best showing, the overland
settlers from Virginia and the northern colonies the poorest." It is not
clear if Meriwether allowed for repetition of names or took into account
the biases of the probate records.
In Elizabeth City, Cremin's other southern example, conditions were
such that one would expect an abnormally high literacy rate in comparison
with other southern areas. Similarly, in the middle colonies, possibly New
York and most certainly Philadelphia, had higher literacy rates than did
surrounding rural settlements. In 1775, these two cities contained 13-14%
of the population of New York and Pennsylvania. C. Bridenbaugh, Cities
in Revolt: Urban Life in America, 1743-76 (New York, 1955), 216; Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1957 (Washington,6 D. C., 1960), 756.
' Cremin, American Education, 446. This generalization applies to white
adult
males. American Indians and Negroes are exempted.
7
549-550, 561.
i
Ibid.,
RURAL LITERACY-1729-1775
307
tion in public affairs. It is in his treatment of the colonial
political culture, the press and formal schooling that Cremin
presents his evidence on the relative dimensions of colonial
America's liberating educational experience.
The political culture that unified the American colonies occupies a central place in Cremin's discussion for in the context
of a "relatively inclusive politics" the citizen had an obligation
to acquire a liberal education and to participate intelligently in
political affairs.18 But the impact of these ideas on the colonists
was unlikely, in itself, to raise educational standards to unique
levels for the political culture that the North American colonies
supported was a shared Anglo-American one. The writings of
Locke, Sidney, Trenchard and Gordon and other Whigs constituted a large segment of public thought in England as well as
in America. On the practical level of direct political involvement,
participation in elections was widespread in both countries.
Although Cremin mentions that the franchise was wider in
America than in England, this is of marginal significance for the
point at issue is the nature of that political participation, an
issue which cannot be resolved by appeals to political theory
or the legal limits of enfranchisement.' 9 Important as the educational and participatory imperatives of the colonial political
culture were, the actual extent to which they could be acknowledged depended directly on the availability of specific educational institutions. In Cremin's eyes, the most important agencies
in the spreading of the liberating literacy were the free press
and the school. 20
Undoubtedly, the press was af principal means of politicization
in America and certainly the amount of material that the colonial
printers madeavailable did increase in the eighteenth century.
But despite the growing number of newspapers and despite the
highly charged political atmosphere that hung over the colonies
in the decade prior to the Revolution, by 1775 newspaper circulation still compared unfavorably with English levels. Acis9 Ibid.,
419-443.
' Tbid.,-445-446; J. H. Plumb, The Growth of Political Stability in England, 1675-1725. (London, 1967.)
Cremin, American Education, 519. A third agency that played a role
in the liberating American experience was the church. Because the growth
in numbers of congregations failed to keep pace with the increase in
population, Cremin admits the church could not have played a crucial
role in the educational revolution. Ibid., 491-493.
20
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY
308
cording to Cremin's own figures, the ratio of subscriptions to
population was 1 to 64 in England, while in America it was
only I to 70.21. Apparently it was in England rather than in America
where newspapers were most widely distributed.
In the absence of a superior rate of newspaper circulation, the
evidence in favor of America's relatively high level of liberating
literacy finally comes down to the extent of formal schooling.
Not surprisingly, Cremin makes his most sweeping claims on
behalf of the provincial schools. In the American colonies
"popularization . . . with respect to access, substance, and
control became early and decisively the single most characteristic commitment of American education."2 2 In a society where
schools founded at a greater rate than population growth, the
"chief' distinguishing feature of provincial education was the
"prevalence of schooling," and it was "via the schools" that
the colonists could most easily "develop a liberating literacy."23
Despite these assurances about the nature of colonial education, Cremin never does directly compare American schooling
facilities with those in England. Certainly the provincial residents began the eighteenth century with less schools per capita
than did the English; whether the colonists merely closed the
gap, had come to equal, or had actually surpassed the English
is not clear. One of Cremin's own admissions, that the household-"the single most fundamental unit of social organization"
in the colonies-was still fulfilling important educational functions
by the Revolution, does suggest that comparatively formal
schooling had not obtained such peculiar and impressive dimensions.24 Neither does it appear that the record of school establishment in all of the colonies lives up to the strong claims that
Cremin makes. Pennsylvania is a case in point.
Traditionally, the Quakers of William Penn's colony have
been judged harshly when measured by their efforts to found
educational institutions.2 5 In order to lay to rest this old notion,
Cremin has drawn heavily on the findings of Thomas Woody
who, in a monograph, Early Quaker Education in Pennsylvania,
concluded that of the fifty particular meetings existing in 1750
"
Ibid., 547.
Ibid., 561.
-Ibid., 500, 544, 549.
Ibid., 480-481, 519.
Ibid., 305-310.
RURAL LrTERACY-1729-1775
309
forty-one "had schools then, or established them in the period
following 1750, in which the increased activity and interest of
the Yearly Meeting brought the subject more fully to their
notice."2- In the process of making his argument, Cremin has
construed Woody's summary in the most favorable possible way,
arguing that of the fifty Quaker meetings that were active by
the mid-eighteenth century "a goodly majority-possibly as many
as forty-were conducting schools." 27 Even assuming that Cremin
is right about this (and a close reading of Woody's evidence suggests that he is not), Woody adds that under these circumstances large numbers of Quaker children would have been
forced to seek education in "mixed" or "neighborhood" schools.2 8
There is little evidence to suggest that institutions of this type
existed in sufficient numbers to fulfill the requisite needs.
By the late 1740's and early '50's there certainly was a growing interest in education among members of the Philadelphia
Yearly Meeting, an interest that appeared to be inspired by the
relative dearth of schooling facilities. The Yearly Meeting reminded the subordinate meetings that they should "encourage
and assist each other" in the settling and support of schools and
in 1753 Quarterly Meetings were asked to appoint committees
"to inspect and examine the amounts of all monies which had
been given to charitable uses" and might relate to the settling
of schools.-9 But even if an agreement was made to finance a
school, the serious problem of finding a teacher remained to be
faced. In 1754 John Smith wrote to Samuel Fothergill that "if
any Friend qualified to teach a grammar school inclines to come
over into this country, there are several places not above 20 or
30 miles from the city where they would be glad to receive such
a one and Would find him his board and 40& per annum
this currency."30
'eThomas Woody, Early Quaker Education in Pennsylvania (New York,
1920), 270.
2' Cremin, American Education, 307.
'Woody, Early quaker Education, 271.
Minutes, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1746, 45; 1750, 18- 1751, 251753, 37; 17-55, 70; Minutes, Concord Quarterly Meeting, 1754, 218. The
meeting minutes are on microfilm at the Friends' Library in Swarthmore.
An increasing number of wills probated in Chester County during the
1740's and early '50's contained specific provisions for the education of
dependent children.
o3John Smith to Samuel Fothergill, February 3, 1754. Correspondence
of John Smith, 1740-70, HSP.
310
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY
In the back country the state of educational institutions was
no better. Writing in the late '40's to Count Zinzendorf, Bishop
John Christopher Frederick Cammerhoff listed the seven schools
the Moravians could support and reported that despite pleas
from mixed groups in Lancaster and Borough and from some
Mennonites near Donegal, they had found it "impossible to
start new schools for strangers."31' Despite Cammerhoffs pessimism, the Moravians did manage to sponsor more teachers,
and by 1755 twenty schools had been established. Of the various
organizations concerned with educational needs during the
fifteen years prior to the outbreak of the French and Indian War,
the Moravians were undoubtedly the most creative group. They
maintained an open admissions policy, taught Scotch-Irish and
English as well as Germans and tried, with some success, to
provide bilingual teachers. By 1755, however, the days of expansion had come to an end and the numbers of pupils accepted
by the schools had stabilized.32
The German Reformed and Lutheran church schools in Pennsylvania displayed a more even pattern of growth. The Reformed Church had five schools by 1741, eighteen by 1750,
thirty-five by 1760, and sixty-three by 1775. It must be born in
mind, however, that in 1760 there were still forty-nine congregations without schools and in 1775 exactly half (63) of the
126 churches had made no provision for formal educational
instruction.'3 The Lutherans were even weaker in their efforts;
by 1750 approximately twenty schools existed. In the next
twenty-five years this number had merely doubled. Following
the advice of their influential spokesman, the Reverend Henry
Melchior Muhlenberg, German Lutherans were particularly
receptive to the Charity School movement but since only a
dozen of these schools actually opened, the impact that they
had was not substantial. 3 4
alBishop John Christopher Frederick Cammerhoff to Count Zinzendorf
August 29, 1748, March 23, 1747, May 24, 1747, Bishop John Christopher
Frederick Cammerhoff Letters, 1747-48 (translated and exerpted by John
W. Jordan), HSP.
'Mabel Haller, Early Moravian Education in Pennsylvania (Nazareth,
Pa., 1953), 191-192, 354.
"Frederick George Livinggood, Eighteenth Century Reformed Church
Schools (Norristown, Pa., 1930), 189-195, 199.
'sCharles Lewis Maurer, Early Lutheran Education in Pennsylvania
(Philadelphia, 1932), 182-215. The chief problem the Germans faced was
not a shortage of possible schoolmasters but the dispersed pattern of settle-
RURAL LITERACY-1729-1775
311
The above data demonstrate that Cremin's observations are
not entirely without point. There was a creative period of educational advancement during the 1740's and '50's; of equal
significance, however, was the backdrop against which this
movement took place. Before these years, educational institutions were virtually nonexistent, and most of the constructive
energy and high-minded zeal expended during this period was
burned up in the battle against past neglect and present inertia.
The educational movement in Pennsylvania was a heroic effort
to prevent the gradual deterioration of educational ideals and
standards that the colonists had brought with them from Europe.
Only after the educational deficiencies that characterized colonial
society had been removed would concrete evidence of that
peculiar American dedication to popular education begin to
appear.3
But the problems in rural Pennsylvania were so great that
the educational revolution never did really get off the ground.
Men continued to disperse over wide areas; the French and
Indian War brought widespread social disruption as well as
heavier tax burdens; charities like the Pennsylvania Hospital
and Friendly Association competed for available funds; the
most promising educational leaders, the Moravians, lost their
vitality and turned inward. Certainly the numbers of schools increased and undoubtedly old rural areas like Chester County,
where the Quaker efforts began to pay dividends, provided increased educational opportunity. 3 6 But overall, in rural Pennsylvania the scene was not so encouraging. At best, it would
appear, the rate of school establishment in the '60's and '70's
did no more than equal the pace of population growths.
ment. Children could be expected to walk no more than five or six miles
and within that radius it was not possible to find enough students to pay
the teacher an acceptable wage. Parents were unable or unwilling to
compensate for the small number of students by paying higher fees. Henry
Harbaugh, The Life of Michael Schlatter (Philadelphia, 1887), 205;
William J. Hinkde' The Life and Letters of the Reverend John Philip
Boehme (Philadelp-hia, 1916), 282.
'w The first generation of settlers in Pennsylvania probably had a higher
technical literacy rate than their children but it is very difficult to measure
the extentt of the change because of the difficulties in determining the
exact biases of the early records.
' Sydney V. James. "Quaker Meetings and Education in the Eighteenth
Century," Quaker History, 51 (1962), 87-102.
a The population of Pennsylvania increased by approximately two and
one-half times between 1750 and 1775. Historical Statistics of the United
312
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY
Pennsylvania's experience, of course, may have been a singular
one. The low and unimproving technical literacy rates and the
slow pace of school development might be explained by a
unique set of circumstances. The anti-intellectualism of the
Quakers and like-minded sects could have had a considerable
effect there. It is possible, too, that real advancements in education were effectively obscured by a disproportionately large
and rapid rate of immigration. Many of the newcomers, particularly among the Scotch-Irish, may not have been literate. Conceivable, too, is the possibility that economic opportunity was
so widely shared that there was no sharp and obvious connection between the possession of basic educational skills and the
successful management of a small plantation; hence, economic
incentives to gain technical literacy might not have been that
great.
But the case of rural Pennsylvania may not have been so
peculiar, and other non-urban areas in the middle colonies, at
least, may have shared similar characteristics. If further investigations prove this to have been the case, then Cremin's claim that
the American educational experience of the eighteenth century
was distinguished by a highly significant and unique level of
participation in a liberating, literary environment is open to
serious objections. The American political revolution may not
have been so popular, the emerging literary culture may not
have been so vital, and the general educational revolution may
have been neither so all pervasive nor so crucial to colonial
development as his analysis suggests.
States, Colonial Times to 1957 (Washington, D. C., 1960), 756. It is
certainly true that increased literacy rates resulting from better schooling
in the 1760's and '70's would not be immediately reflected in the record
of signatures on probate records. But if educational levels did rise
significantly among the province's youth in these years, they were too
young to have had much influence in the traditional agricultural society
of rural Pennsylvania. Those who were heads of families and community
leaders during the ferment of the Revolution were of an older generation.
In his study of the local revolutionary committees of Philadelphia, R. A.
Ryerson has found that between 69 and 95 percent of the members on
the eight major revolutionary committees (1765-78) were men in their
30's and 40's. If 40 is accepted as a median age for this, the largest group
of active revolutionary leaders, then it is most likely that they received
their basic education between 1735 and 1750. This was certainly before
the educational revolution had gained much momentum. R. A. Ryerson,
"Opportunity and Obligation in Crisis Politics: The Local Revolutionary
Committees of Philadelphia, 1765-1776," unpublished seminar paper, The
Johns Hopkins University.